WHITTIER, CA. (APR. 13, 2024)- After defeating the Occidental Tigers yesterday, the Whittier College Poets played them again Saturday in a SCIAC double-header. The Tigers came out of the gates ready to play today and defeated the Poets 6-2 in the first game of the day, before Whittier answered back and won the rubber match third game by a final score of 17-7. 

GAME 1: 
The first game of the day was not a good one for the Poets, as the team struggled on both the offensive and pitching aspects of the game. The Tigers got off to a good start, putting up 3 runs in the first inning. The Poets however were not going to just roll over and got one back in the bottom half of the first. With 2-outs Lew Rice (Walkerton, Va., IMG Academy) walked and stole second on the next pitch to get into scoring position. Maximus Berber (Riverside, Calif., Ramona HS), who had pitched a phenomenal game the night before then stepped to the plate and singled up the middle to bring the Poets first run across. 

Whittier would not score again until the sixth inning, when Joe Plaskett (Fremont, Calif., Washington HS) hit a home run over the right field wall. But this is where the scoring would end for the team, with the final score being 6-2. After coming into the game in the first inning with only 1 out, Diego Lopez (San Jose, Calif., Thomas More HS, West Valley CC) pitched well for the Purple and Gold limiting the Tigers offense. Marcos Armenta Jr. (Bellflower, Calif., Gahr HS), Owen Moore (Austin, Texas, St. Michael's Catholic Academy), Matthew Helguera (Montebello, Calif., Schurr HS), and Riley Schicker (Camarillo, Calif., Santa Clara HS) also pitched for the Poets in this game going a combined 5+ innings of work and only allowing 1 run. On the offensive side Delvan Gomez (Artesia, Calif., Gahr HS, Cerritos College) continued to swing a hot bat going 2-4 with 2 doubles. 

Game 2:
Flipping the page on the first game, Whittier would need to come out and play their style of game in the rubber match of the series. The Poets did just that, riding a strong 5 inning of work from starting pitcher, Jackson Salinas (Oxnard, Calif., Oxnard HS, Oxnard College), and their 17 runs on 19 hits. 

OXY once again started this game off scoring 2 runs in the first inning. Whittier was ready to fight in this game though and was not going to let this one slip away. In the first inning, Nathan Sherman (Ventura, Calif., Buena HS) got this started with a single to first base and was brought into score on a Rice triple. Rice was then able to advance home on a Berber SAC fly to left field. The score was tied 2-2 at the end of the first inning. 

In the second, the Poets loaded the bases with 2-outs and then Rice came up big again. He smashed a ball into right field and brought 2 runners in to score to give the Poets their first lead of the day. 

The next inning, Whittier scored once again. Ian Watanabe led things off with a single to left field, and was moved over to second base on a Ty Aldridge (Hayward, Calif., Moreau Catholic, Allegheny College) SAC bunt. Jackson Brummett (Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach) then poked a nice double into the left-center field gap to score Watanabe. In the fourth the Poets were not done. Sherman led things off with a double and then scored when Barrett singled into left field. Whittier was on top of OXY 6-2 at the end of the fourth. 

In the top of the fifth inning the Tigers got one back, but the Poets kept pace with them and scored 2 in the bottom half of the inning. Gomez got his pitch to hit and crushed a ball over the left field wall to score him and Brummett and put the Poets up 8-3. 

The top of the sixth inning was a forgettable one for the Poets, as their pitching surrendered 4 runs and the score was now 8-7. The offense was not going to let this half inning throw them off their game and in the bottom of the sixth the team scored 3 more. Rice doubled once again and then moved over to third base on a Berber groundout. Watanabe stepped to the plate and hit a SAC fly to score Rice. Aldridge wanted to get the rally going once again after this play and followed it up with a single of his own. Stirton and Brummett were then hit by pitches to load the bases for Gomez. The shortstop got his pitch and hit a single into right field that allowed 2 runners to come across. At the end of the sixth the score was 11-7. 

Whittier would go on to score 3 runs in the seventh and 3 in the eighth. These big innings were on the backs of multiple doubles, including one from Plaskett that scored 2 runs and ended the game on the 10-run rule in the eighth inning. 

Sherman was the engine behind the Poet offense in this second game, finishing 5-5 with a double, a stolen base, and 5 runs scored. Barrett, Rice, Stirton, and Gomez all also had multiple hits and scored runs in this game. Salinas finished going 5 innings of work on the mound with 3 strikeouts to secure his first victory as a Poet, while Schicker and Helguera cleaned things up in the final few innings. The Poet offense was in their groove this game, with 9 different batters recording hits and the team scoring in every inning. 

The Poets will be back in action tomorrow, heading back to OXY to take on the Tigers in a non-conference game. The two teams lost games at the beginning of the year due to rain, so they will be making it up by playing a fourth game against each other. This game is set to beginning at 1:00, barring any weather setbacks.